Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Almost Archer Sisters


by Lisa Gabriele.

Quickie Recap: Peachy is a "stayer" and Beth is a "leaver". Beth left the family home (a farm in rural Ontario) as soon as she could, and fled to a life of glamour in New York City. Peachy stayed behind, dropping out of school to marry and have a family. Years later, Peachy's life is comfortable and Beth's is beginning to fray but - guess what!? - all that's about to change!!

Quickie Review: So I was thinking to myself that I needed a serious injection of fiction, stat, so I reached for a strong injection of the guilty pleasure, forgivable\unforgivable sort. This is exactly the kind of book I read when I'm alone at night because I'd be too embarrassed to be caught with it. But then it surprised me. It was actually a bit meatier than I expected. Okay, it's not a feat of literature or anything, but it was its moments. It definitely went down easily and I have to say, when it's sandwiched between an exploration of a failing auto plant and the glory days of Saddam Hussein, it was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Quickie Recommendation: I can see this appealing to a wider audience that the book I reviewed before this, and after this. Is that a good thing? Bad thing? I don't know. I do know that I enjoyed it, and that Gabriele has a place in this world, and that when my brow was furrowed with too much information, her words have soothed me and made it possible for me to read on.

1 comment:

anne... said...

i just finished this one up last night, after picking it up on a whim. i agree that it's not going to change anyone's life, but it was a good read. i liked the complexity of the relationships between peachy and beau and beth, and that there was no obvious happy ending.